


Love of the Game

by kiboutozetsubou



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [10]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: AND I SAY FOOTBALL HERE I MEAN AMERICAN FOOTBALL BC IM TRASH AND THATS WHAT I SEE IKE PLAYING, High School AU, M/M, Sports, ike plays FOOTBALL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 23:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16005881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiboutozetsubou/pseuds/kiboutozetsubou
Summary: For the prompt "Do they know we're together?" from the jealous/possessive meme.





	Love of the Game

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this fic almost a year ago and posted it on tumblr lol. i feel like some of these tumblr ficlets are too short to bother putting on ao3 (admittedly i, myself, rarely bother reading fics that are below 1k), but i decided to do it anyway, primarily because i think the ikesoren tag can use all the content it can get lol and i love them,,, even though im not sure if i can do them justice

Soren is too physically frail to play any sports himself, but he always fully supported his boyfriend’s football career. “Career” isn’t really the right word, since he’s on the high school team, but Soren often found that Ike took practice more seriously than his studies.

Soren’s strength lay squarely in academics, but that doesn’t stop him from helping Ike play football. He’s quite good at drafting strategies and plays, and even though he can’t be the coach since he’s a student himself, he made sure that his tactical knowledge helped Ike on the field.

He’s proud of Ike, and he even admires his prowess as a talented athlete.

Unfortunately, he isn’t the only one.

It has become common place for Ike to be hounded by fangirls after every game, while Soren stands awkwardly off to the side and tries not to be too visibly irritated. Ike never looks like he enjoys this attention, but he seems not to want to be mean to his fans, either. This irritates Soren even more, because really, they’re being  _rude_ , so Ike shouldn’t have a problem being rude in return.

Today Ike actually seems to notice that Soren is in a bad mood, and opens his mouth to say something when one of the girls interrupts. She actually dares to put a hand on his arm as she does so, Soren notices as he grits his teeth. “Ike, we’re all going out to get something to eat. Do you want to come with us?”

The other girls murmur excitedly in agreement. None of them spare Soren a glance, never mind an invitation. He’s ready to snap at them, consequences be damned, when Ike opens his mouth first. “Sorry, I have plans with Soren.”

Soren glances at him skeptically, because they don’t actually have plans. Ike is giving him a knowing look, so he quickly looks away.

A pregnant silence falls over the group of girls as they give Soren a vaguely disdainful once-over. He suppresses the urge to snarl at them.

“Aw, okay,” the first girl says, removing her offending hand from Ike’s arm. “Maybe next time!”

Ike gives an ambivalent answer and the girls walk away, chatting amongst themselves. Soren’s eyes follow them, his face twitching.

“Do they know we’re together?” he asks irritably, before he can stop himself.

Ike blinks at him, looking a little taken aback. “I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it to them before.”

“They certainly don’t act like they know,” Soren snips back.

He has much more to say on the subject, but bites his tongue before he can make an idiot of himself. Ike watches him carefully, and Soren swears he sees his mouth twitch up ever so slightly, as if in amusement. “You don’t have to be jealous, Soren.”

Soren flushes. “I’m not–”

“I appreciate my fans,” Ike cuts in, “but I don’t play for them. It wouldn’t make a difference if they were there for me or not.” He pauses heavily. “You’re the one that I play for, Soren.”

Soren has to look away from him, face blazing. “Ike…”

“I mean it.” He feels Ike’s arms wrap around him. It’s a little embarrassing because they’re still standing around the field and anyone can see, but he doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks. “You’re my tactician, right? You’re the one that I need. You should know that by now.”

He’s right of course, which makes Soren even more embarrassed. He sighs, resting his head against Ike’s chest. “I do know,” he mutters. “But they’re still annoying.”

Ike laughs a little. “They have good intentions, but–yeah, they kind of are.”

“Good intentions?” Soren looks up at Ike, raising his eyebrows. “They look at me like I’m dirt, and–”

“You look at them the same way, Soren.”

“– _And_  they’re trying to steal you away from me.”

It sounds petulant and childish the moment it comes out of his mouth, but he can’t take it back. The words do give Ike pause, though.

“It’s hard to say if that’s true or if they just want to be my fans,” he says evenly, after a moment. “But it doesn’t matter, because I don’t really want to hang around them. I know we didn’t actually have plans today, but I’d take doing nothing with you over plans with them any day.”

“You’re being unusually cheesy today,” Soren points out, mostly to distract from how warm Ike’s words make him feel.

“You’re being unusually irrational,” Ike counters. “You should know no one’s going to steal me away from you.”

Soren is quiet for a few moments. “I know,” he says again with a sigh. He extracts himself from Ike’s embrace, taking his hand and turning away toward the parking lot. “Let’s go do nothing, then. Right after you take a shower, because you smell like sweat.”

Ike throws an arm around him. “You don’t seem like you mind.”

Soren hides a smile, because really, he doesn’t mind at all.


End file.
